HERON. 85 



Heron. Ardea cinerea Linn. 



The Common Heron (Plate 31) has a wide Old World range 

 and is migratory in the northern portion. In our islands it is a 

 resident, though numbers of immigrants reach us in autumn. 



The specific name of the Heron is descriptive ; when it 

 stands patiently in the shallows it looks a grey bird, and greyer 

 still when it perches, as it often does, on the dark branch of 

 some fir. Its French-grey mantle, dark slate, almost black 

 flight feathers, white forehead, head and neck with black 

 markings and trailing black crest, its filamental bushy breast- 

 plate, and stout yellow bill, are unlike those of any other British 

 bird. In many parts it is called the " Crane." The Heron is a 

 water bird, but whether fresh or salt, clear or muddy, does not 

 matter so long as it will yield something worth waiting for. It 

 does not, however, always wait for its quarry, but stalks through 

 the water with long, deliberate strides (Plate 30), ready to dash 

 its pick-axe bill upon any unsuspecting fish, frog, beetle, or other 

 animal. Young wildfowl are killed, and indeed in hard weather 

 full-grown birds ; a Water-Rail has been found whole in its 

 stomach. Mice and rats are eaten, and, judging by the fur in 

 cast-up pellets, large numbers of water-voles. In its nesting 

 habits the Heron is gregarious, and though a solitary Heron 

 is a common sight, it is often sociable ; three or four will feed 

 close together or stand in a group on the bank as they preen 

 their feathers. 



In its characteristic resting position the bird stands very 

 upright, often on a mooring post, stump, or dead branch, with 

 its neck drawn in and its head sunk between its hunched-up 

 shoulders ; when feeding the carriage is less upright, the head 

 and neck and even the body tilted forward. If prey is sighted 

 the dart downward, swinging as if hinged on the legs, is very 

 rapid. The bird stabs its prey, sometimes several times, to 

 " knock it out," and large fish are carried to the bank and the 



